richelle andrae
Thank you for the opportunity to serve District 11, which includes most of Hill Farms, Shorewood Village, and the neighborhoods immediately east of Midvale Blvd. I’ve lived in Madison since 2013, and reside near West High School. I’ve experienced our community through the eyes of a student, a young professional working in non-profit, an academic, and a volunteer. During the day, I am an advocate for safety net clinics in Wisconsin, working with state policymakers and partners to ensure that all residents have access to quality health care, regardless of income or insurance status. I’ve previously worked on local public health evaluation projects, rural workforce development, and Medicaid policy. After serving an AmeriCorps service term in California, I returned to Wisconsin and worked directly with underserved teens in Madison high schools, helping them find and keep their first jobs.
On the County Board, I chaired the Public Protection & Judiciary Committee from 2022 to 2026, which has oversight for the Dane County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney's Office, Emergency Management, 911 Call Center, Courts, Pre-Trial Services, Medical Examiner, and more. I now serve as Vice-Chair of the Personnel & Finance Committee which has primarily jurisdiction over important budget decisions.
A few of my "success stories" on the Board include navigating the complex jail consolidation project, improving constituent outreach by encouraging implementation of a successful blog system for Supervisors, and budget amendments to improve the pay structure for staff attorneys to support the timely service of justice, expunge Birth Recovery Costs (learn more about this policy issue here), and fund a local Food System Action Plan.
When I’m not at work or engaged in Board activities, you can find me on a walk enjoying the oaks in the Speedway cemetery with my rescue pup, Roux, or paddling my kayak on the Yahara. I studied Spanish at UW-Madison during my undergrad, and earned a Masters in Public Affairs from the La Follette School, focusing on health policy and administration. Please reach out at any time and I look forward to working with you.　
Neighbors,
Before I get into the weeds on serious county issues, did you know that Nora the polar bear at Henry Vilas Zoo may be pregnant – but there’s no way to know for sure?! Learn more and follow the Zoo on social media https://www.henryvilaszoo.gov/ to stay in the loop!
Find all of the details here for the county budget process currently underway: https://board.danecounty.gov/budget. That page includes all upcoming hearings and opportunities for providing feedback to the County Board.
On October 1, County Executive Agard released her budget proposal which is available at https://admin.danecounty.gov/documents/pdf/Budget/2027/County-Executive-Budget.pdf. The summary on pages 6 – 19 is a great overview. From here, the baton passes to the County Board; we are in the thick of budget season right now and will sprint toward passage of a budget by Nov. 5, effective 1/1/2027. The county is working through an operating deficit, so every amendment by a Supervisor must have an offset for funding from some other source, which likely includes eliminating a program, position, or services.
We have a hearing at 7PM on Monday, October 19 regarding the Executive’s proposal – please consider joining and sharing your priorities! At this point, all Committees are holding hearings and considering budget amendments, which will continue for the next 2 weeks. The Personnel & Finance Committee, which I serve on, has the role of reconciling budget amendments from committees and making a recommendation to the full County Board at the end of October.
Items that we’re hearing significant public input on include funding for Journey’s mental health services and for housing navigation. Journey is an essential community partner delivering many services like crisis care and law enforcement co-responders in rural areas. Journey and county staff seem to disagree on accounting financials; I’ve been meeting with both parties to fully understand the issue and evaluate options. Unrelated, the Executive’s budget proposes reducing funding for certain housing navigation and case management services, including those provided by Urban Triage and YWCA Madison. Public testimony on these topics last week was very impactful. We heard from many individuals with lived experience who have benefitted from services and who have truly fallen through the cracks of our social safety net, only to find relief from these providers. I am hoping we can find a path forward to mitigate or eliminate reductions to maintain services.
We are also discussing the value of body-worn cameras for the Sheriff’s Office. Cameras are currently in use for the western precinct, and the Executive’s budget proposes using $3 million in capital funds to expand that countywide. I was the author of budget amendments 2 years ago that laid out processes for community engagement, transparency, and other requirements prior to the initial pilot implementation. I approach this issue the same again now when considering a full countywide implementation: community input is essential, policies must be evidence-based and informed by the best available models (for example see https://www.aclu.org/issues/privacy-technology/surveillance-technologies/police-body-cameras) and enforced by regular, formal reviews, strong enforcement of policies, auditing, and clarity for the public. As with any tool, body-worn cameras can be used for good or ill but in my opinion cameras would have a net positive impact on supporting transparency especially during critical incidents, health and well-being of officers, enforcing best practices, public trust, and accountability. The current draft policy and others from DCSO are here: https://www.danesheriff.com/Policies.
Please reach out to share your input, questions, and priorities throughout October as we deliberate on the budget. I welcome your feedback all along the way.
In non-budget news...
In service,
Richelle Andrae
Dane County Board Supervisor District 11
